Michigan Governor Signs Bills Into Law Modifying Election Recounts

The law also requires that a recount has to be filed within 48 hours of the certification of the votes by a board of canvassers.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer speaks at an event in National Harbor, Md., on May 4, 2023. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed bills into law this week that change the way election recounts are carried out in the state, prohibiting county canvassers to investigate allegations of fraud.

The text of Senate Bill 603 changes provisions around election recounts, and it states that a recount will not be an “investigation or an audit of the conduct of an election” and will not determine “the qualifications of electors participating in an election or the manner in which ballots are applied for or issued to electors.”